IDEA Complaint Decision 24-080

On June 11, 2024, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from ####

(complainant) against the ####l (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue identified is whether the district, during the 2023-24 school year, properly responded to the request of a parent of a student with a disability for a meeting of the student’s individualized education program (IEP) team.

 

The parent of a student with a disability may request an IEP team meeting at any time, and the district should grant any reasonable request for an IEP team meeting. If the district denies the parent's request for an IEP team meeting, the district must provide the parent with a notice of refusal in writing and include an explanation of why the district refuses to grant the request. 34 CFR § 300.503.

 

Prior to the time period applicable to this complaint, the student was enrolled in the district and initially identified as a student with a disability. The district provided the student services according to their IEP during the 2022-23 school year. During that time, the complainant, who is the student’s parent, requested another evaluation be conducted of the student. The district declined because the previous evaluation had only been completed a few months prior to the complainant’s request. The complainant chose to enroll the student in a private school located outside the school district for the 2023-24 school year.

 

On August 14, 2023, the complainant contacted school staff describing some concerning behaviors that the student was having at home. In response, even though the student was a parentally placed private school student, staff offered the complainant the opportunity to hold an IEP team meeting. The complainant did not respond to this request. On September 28, 2023, the complainant contacted the district to clarify they did not wish the student to receive special education services from the district. The district responded that since the student was enrolled in a private school, the district had not been, and would not be, providing the student special education services in accordance with their IEP. However, the district explained that as the student’s resident school district, it stood ready to provide special education services should the parent choose to enroll the student in the district at any point in the future. Following ongoing communication between the complainant and district staff, the district held an IEP team meeting for the student on January 24, 2024. The complainant attended the meeting. The team revised the student’s IEP to reflect programming the district would provide if the parent enrolled the student in the school district. The complainant chose to continue having the student attend the private school.

 

The complainant reached out to the district again in April 2024, seeking information from school staff regarding private service providers outside the school district. District staff responded to the request. This was not a request for an IEP team meeting. The district responded properly to the parent’s requests during the 2023-24 school year, including by offering and holding an IEP team meeting for the student.

 

This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.